First Meeting
by ravenswoodmoon
Summary: Edward is a new student at Forks High School. Imagine what he find he walks into biology for the first time! AU/AH


Bella's point of view:

Like most days, I wasn't hungry at lunch time. My best friend, Angela, tried to convince me to at least try the homemade apple pies she'd brought with her to school, but I shook my head.

"I'll just stick with my bowl of cornflakes," I told her, poking at my cereal with my spoon. It wasn't much, but it was enough for me to be able to say I'd had something.

"God, I wish I had that kind of self control," Jessica lamented in a melodramatic voice, plopping into the seat next to me. "No wonder you're so skinny, Bella. Omigod, these apple pies look absolutely succulent!"

"I brought them to share," Angela let her know, pushing one of the tins forward. "Help yourself."

Jessica did just that, greedily cutting herself a large piece. As she did so, she asked, "So have either of you had a class with the new guy yet? What. A. Hottie."

"New guy?" I frowned. If we had a new student, this was the first I'd heard about it.

Jessica let out an exasperated sigh. "Really, Bella, do you ever pay attention to anything other than you books? Yes. The new guy. Edward Cullen. He's from Alaska! Isn't that _exotic_?" Exotic. Succulent. Had someone gotten Jessica a "Word of the Day" calendar for Christmas, or what?

"He was in my history class," Angela offered. "He doesn't talk much, does he? I wonder why he's not here having lunch with us."

The two of them spent of the remainder of the hour discussing this as-of-yet-unknown-to-me Alaskan megastud, Edward Cullen, and why he wasn't present in the cafeteria. True to my nature, I pulled out my copy of Jane Eyre and managed to ignore them. _Boys_.

The sky outside of the classroom was bleak and dreary as I took my seat at my lab table. Fifth period biology: My second most loathed class, right after P.E. They shared one thing in common, and that thing was Mike Newton. At least in biology I didn't have to wear shorts and run around. At least in biology I had a lab table to myself.

I don't know at what point Mike decided he had a "thing" for me, but his irritatingly loud voice and his penchant for lime green sweaters (like the one he had on today; did his mother buy those for him, or what?) had been the bane of my existence for the entire school year. With the weather crappy like this, I was already in a foul mood. When Mike entered the classroom and made a beeline for my desk, that mood immediately worsened.

"Hey Arizona, when are you gonna bring us some sunshine?" he asked cheerfully, hopping up onto the empty stool next to mine. I rolled my eyes. _Seriously?_

"I don't think it works that way, Mike," I responded dryly, pulling out my books and setting them out in front of me. Maybe if I ignored him he would just... go away. Take the hint finally.

I was never that lucky.

"Well then you and I can just take a tropical vacation somewhere," Mike offered. He wiggled his eyebrows to punctuate his suggestion, and I felt a small amount of vomit rise up in the back of my throat. Why me?

"Okay, class, everyone have a seat!" Mr. Banner called out. He gave Mike a pointed look. "Your _own_ seats."

Grousing to himself unhappily, Mike hopped off his stool and ambled over to the lab desk he shared with his friend Tyler. I thanked Mr. Banner silently for my reprieve.

"Today we're going to be dissecting flatworms. I'll need someone to help me pass out materials in a minute, but first I want to go over a few things. First, the scalpels are not toys-"

There was a knock at the classroom door, interrupting him midsentence. Instantly, 23 heads turned in that direction. Nothing even happens at this school just like nothing ever happens anywhere in Forks period. A knock at the door might mean excitement. Maybe the woodworking class had accidentally started a fire.

When the door swung open and an unfamiliar figure appeared, I felt my breath catch in my throat. A pair of piercing green eyes swept over the classroom, and my face reddened when they examined me briefly. This had to be him. This was Edward Cullen.

His tall, muscular frame filled the doorway for a moment before he entered and crossed the front of the room to Mr. Banner's desk. As they spoke he ran his fingers through his wild bronze several times, leaving it in absolute disarray. I found myself aching to touch that hair, to reach up and straighten it while those perfect green eyes stared into mine. I knew right then that I was going to fall for Edward Cullen.

Edward's point of view:

All morning I'd mostly managed to keep myself, even in spite of the numerous fumbled introductions and awkward questions about myself. "Hi, I'm Jessica. Let me know if you want me to show you around!" "How do you like Forks so far?" "So what's Alaska like? Is it true the sun never sets?" And on and on. It became tiresome almost immediately, and I was already waiting for the time when I would no longer be novel to these other students. When they would go back to business as usual and forget all about Edward Cullen, the new kid who as of right now never planned on getting to know any of them.

It had gotten so bad by lunch time that I'd been forced to go sit out in my car. Now I was dreading entering my fifth period class. I looked at the slip of paper in front of me: Biology. Mr. Banner.

After a firm knock on the door I went in, and of course everyone stared at me right away. After a rapid look around the classroom I approached the teacher and gave him my admission slip to sign. He introduced himself, and I reciprocated somewhat impatiently. As Mr. Banner signed my form, I looked around the room more closely.

There. Right in the middle of the classroom, looking right at me. So was everyone else, sure, but that didn't matter. Nothing else mattered, not in that moment. I watched, transfixed, the arms that moved to fold across the desk and the hair that shined even under the cheap fluorescent lighting of the room. Those eyes finally left mine, much to my disappointment, to gaze elsewhere in the class. Delicate hands lifted to gesture back at someone of whom I was immediately envious. My heart pounded.

How was this possible? How was my body reacting the way it was now? I had never felt this way about anyone before, and I didn't even have a name yet. I needed a name. I needed... I needed that body in my arms, those eyes locked on mine, those delicate hands twisted in my hair.

Unfortunately, right then the best I could hope for was a name. Mr. Banner politely handed me back my admission slip, but what he actually gave me was a sense of relief as he called out the name that I wanted to memorize and say over and over again.

"Mike Newton, if you don't knock that off, you and Tyler and both going to the office."

_Mike Newton_, I repeated to myself. Maybe biology, maybe _Forks_, wouldn't be so bad after all.


End file.
